Eco Friendly Engagement Ring with lab grown diamonds

Here at French Wedding Style, we’re pretty clued up when it comes to helping couples get married in France – it’s our raison d’être. So when couples get in touch and ask for advice in areas in the wedding world where we aren’t as well versed, we turn to the experts for their guidance and advice. With being eco-friendly on many peoples agenda nowadays, it is no surprise that this in turn acts as inspiration to couples on their wedding day.

And the most personal item on the wedding to-do list? – select the rings. With this in mind, today on the blog we’re super excited to be able to share with you an eco-friendly wedding ring option – lab grown diamonds. And the experts in question – Clean Origin.

As one of the leading producers of lab grown diamonds, we’ve tasked Clean Origin to paint us a picture of what lab grown diamonds are, just why they are so eco-friendly, and how to have your Wedding or Engagement rings with one of their diamonds.

Now, there is probably a question that has jumped straight to the front of the queue, so let’s deal with it right now – are lab created diamonds, real diamonds? Simply put, yes they are.

Now we’ve got that out of the way, let’s find out a little about the process of lab grown diamonds, and just how eco-friendly they really are.

The simplified version is that lab grown diamonds start off as diamond seeds which are subjected to 2 artificial processes, which synthesise the natural processes of diamond creation – “High Pressure, High Temperature” and “Chemical Vapour Deposition”.

And the eco-friendliness factor? Asides the fact that they are grown rather than mined is a positive indicator alone. We need to state however, that energy and resources are still needed to create a lab grown diamond, but the quantities are much, much lower.

For instance, to mine a single caret more than 126 gallons of water is needed. Whereas in the lab this is just 18 gallons. And energy use is halved – with the potential for more to be offset by the use of renewable energy. To find out more, you can view the study by Frost & Sullivan

Let’s focus on the diamond itself now and ask, will anyone know that it’s not a natural diamond? The answer – No!

A lab-created diamond is chemically, physically and optically the exact same as a naturally grown diamond. The only difference is how they came into being. Still not sure? Stephen Morisseau a spokesperson for the Gemological Institute of America, a nonprofit organization that oversees the international diamond grading system, has said “[Lab-created diamonds] are not fakes. They’re not cubic zirconias. They have all the same physical and chemical properties of a mined diamond.”

Just like the diamonds that are created in nature, lab-created diamonds have to be certified and graded, in the same process as mined diamonds. The diamonds are sent off to independent labs to be assessed by multiple people, before an average diamond grade is given. This is usually on the 4c’s, cut, clarity, colour and carat.

Now there are many benefits of lab grown diamonds, one of which is the price with lab grown diamonds being cheaper, due to the shortened length of the supply chain. Another, is that they are grown in the safety of a laboratory – no blood spilled or conflict to tarnish them with. You will also know the origin of the diamond that you are wearing.

Once the diamond has been grown, certified and graded, then it’s business as usual to find it’s perfect setting… and ultimately whether lab created or naturally grown, the most important thing about your diamond is the love that it represents.